BSP last week in a bid to expose the Congress’ “SC/ST-prem” (love for SC/STs).

LUCKNOW: On Saturday, the ruling party officially released three posters of the BSP related to April 14. The Congress too has come out with a poster for the day. While the BSP poster carries Ms. Mayawati’s picture and those of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, that is, the Great Prabuddha Bharath icons, including Dr. Ambedkar, Mr. Gandhi’s portrait dominates the space in the Congress poster with lesser space given to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. This Congress poster, however, does not carry the pictures of Dr. Ambedkar or any other SC/ST leader.

Describing the Congress as “anti-SC/ST”, the BSP State unit president Swami Prasad Maurya said the Congress was responsible for the extreme poverty and deprivation among the Aboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, that is, the Great Prabuddha Bharath. Referring to the Congress poster, Mr. Maurya slammed the party for ignoring Dr. Ambedkar. He said Dr. Ambedkar had advised his supporters to stay away from the Congress.

In fact, the absence of Dr. Ambedkar’s picture in the Congress poster, which was put up in Ambedkar Nagar, was made an issue by the local unit of BSP last week in a bid to expose the Congress’ “SC/ST-prem” (love for SC/STs). The posters were hastily withdrawn by the Congress.

When contacted, the Congress Yatra in-charge, Faizabad MP Nirmal Khatri, said the posters minus Dr. Ambedkar were put up by some enthusiastic party supporters.

Pushed to the back foot by the Bahujan Samaj Party’s in a bid to regain its SC/ST support base in Uttar Pradesh launch of “Congress Yatra 2010” from Ambedkar Nagar on April 14, the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar is planned.Bahujan Samaj Party is now trying to “expose” its political adversary’s concern for SC/STs.

Apart from celebrating Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, the BSP would stage a State-wide dharna and demonstration on April 14 in protest against the Women’s Reservation Bill.

urn money

Lucknow: A legislator of Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) made two government officials, allegedly demanding bribes in his constituency, confess their crime before the villagers and squat on their haunches while holding their ears to apologise. The legislator on Friday justified his actions.

Mohammad Ghazi, who represents Afzalgarh in Bijnore district, also made the two officials return the bribe to the ten women who had paid them Rs 10,000 each for getting their names included in the list of beneficiaries for Indira Housing Scheme.

“Under the scheme, a poor Dalit was entitled to a free dwelling unit in his village but two village-level officers Ram Gopal Singh and Harpal Singh approached ten women villagers whose names figured in the list of beneficiaries and demanded they shell out Rs 10,000 each,” Ghazi said over telephone from Afzalgarh.

The officials had held back the letters of allotment of houses to these ten women, who made a complaint to the chief development officer when they did not receive their allotment orders.

After failing to get a response from him, they approached the legislator, who summoned both the complainants and the accused officials before him.

“After much cross-questioning, the officials confessed their crime before the village gathering earlier this week. They were made to hold their ears and sit on haunches,” the legislator said.

“They were let off after they called their family members to bring the money that was returned to the complainants,” he added.

Asked if it was fair and legitimate for anyone to adopt what seemed like tribal justice in modern times, Ghazi said: “I see nothing wrong with it. After all, the wrongful act has received instant punishment, while the wronged has got what was due to him.”

Lucknow, Apr 5 (PTI) Expressing inability to fund theRight to Education scheme in the midst of a row over spending forAboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, that is, the Great Prabuddha Bharath memorials, the Mayawati government today hit back saying it was“petty politics” that every time the Chief Minister raises key issues“some important people” rake up the memorial issue.

Terming as “unfortunate” the attack on Mayawati for pointing topractical problems in implemention of the Right to Education act inthe state, state cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said sincethe Centre has enacted the law it was the the Centre’s “moral duty tomake arrangements for funds for the purpose”.